Mechanical positioning mechanism



Jan. 21, 1964 H. E. THOMPSON 3,118,309

MECHANICAL PosIToNING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2s. 1960 20 F| G. 1 INVENTOR.

HERBERT E. THOMPSON BY Q l ,Y MM A ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,118,369 MECHANICAL PSTENHNG MECHANISM Heribert E. Thompson, San Jose, Calif., assigner to international Business Machines (orpcration, New York, NX., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 23, 19630, Ser. No. 77 ,871 9 Claims. (Cl. 74--99) The present invention relates to a mechanical positioning mechanism and more particularly to a mechanical actuating drive for positioning a device at a selected discrete position within a predetermined range of positions.

The present invention contemplates an actuating drive in the form of a mechanical numeric iadder which employs a plurality of linear-to-rotary motion generators. ln the present invention a plurality of shafts are mounted in a frame for both rotary and axial movement. Separate means is provided for imparting an axial thrust to each shaft. A linear-to-rotary motion generator is mounted on each shaft and the generators are coded in accordance with a preselected numeric code. The generators are connected in series to transmit rotary motion through the train of generators and provide an output lwhich is equal to the sum of the inputs to the individual generators. The mechanism of the present invention is operated by imparting `an axial thrust to selected shafts to actuate the selected linear-to-rotary motion generators required to produce the desired output.

The object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical numeric adder 4for use as an actuating drive which is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

Gther objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the `accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the mechanism of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the device of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in partial section; and

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the device of FIG. 3 activated to produce an output.

Referring more particularly to FIG. l of the drawing, the present invention is illustrated as including a plurality of linear-to-rotary motion generators lli-i4, each of which is mounted on a shaft lS-l. Each motion generator is made up of a pair of gears i946. The gears of each pair are separated by a series of balls 27-3@ which act as the means of transmitting rotary motion between the gears whenever one gear -is moved toward or away from the other. The balls ride in arcuate inclined chanels formed in the opposing surfaces of each pair of gears. A gear of each motion generator meshes in driving connection with a gear of an adjacent motion generator to form a gear train yfor the transmission of rotary motion. The initial drive for each motion generator is supplied by an axial thrust through shafts )l5-18 delivered by any suit-able means 55-58, such as a solenoid or an hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, etc.

As shown in FIG. 2 there are three or more balls separating each pair of gears and each ball rides in an arcuate channel Slt-34. The channels in each motion generator are of equal length and equidistant from the center of rotation of the generator and are spaced apart on centers approximately 120 degrees. The arcuate channels 3h34. of the respective motion generators are of various lengths depending upon the amount of movement needed to correspond to a numeric output of the mechanism. In general, the arc lengths could be of any code so that the output would be the sum of the various lengths, however, by way of example, motion generators 11-14 are coded "ice 3, 3, 2 and 1 respectively. That is, motion generators l1 and l2 will produce three increments of movement, motion generator i3 will produce two increments, and motion generator ld will produce one increment of movement.

Referring to FIG. 3, a practical embodiment of the present invention is illustrated as including upper and lower frame members 35 and 3rd spaced a short distance apart. Shafts it-lb are mounted in the frame members for both rotary and axial movement. Motion generators i1-l4 are mounted on the respective shafts between the frame members. -ln this connection, it should be noted that motion generators 11 and 13 are reversed from the position shown in FlG. l so that all four motion generators lie in a common plane. To facilitate positioning the motion generators in a common plane, portions of gears 21, 23 and 24 have been removed lto prevent meshing with gears Ztl, 22 and 25 respectively. The lower gears 19, 2.2, 23 and Z6 are each connected with their respective shaft for the transmission of axial motion from the shaft to the gear. This connection may be by means of a collar (not shown) or other protrusion on the shaft abutting the lower surface of the gear. The upper gears 2l and 24 are loosely mounted on shafts lo and i7 allowing the shafts to reciprocate freely lalong their axes in a vertical direction and allowing these gears to rotate independently of the shafts. Gear 25 is connected to shaft i8 as by a spline or pin to transmit rotary motion from the gear to the shaft. Gear 2() is stationary, being attached to the upper iframe 35 by bolts or screws 37 to serve as the initial thrust point when the gear train is in motion. The annular channels 31-34- are formed by pairs of aligned, arcuate, oppositely inclined grooves 38-45 in the opposing surfaces of each pair of gears. ln the rest condition of each motiongenerator, the gears are maintained in such rotational or angular position relative to each other that the shallow portions of each pair of grooves are in overlapping relation with a ball disposed therebetween. in such position, the balls form a driving connection between the gears of each pair to prevent relative rotation therebetween in one direction. The balls 27-3@ riding in the grooves SiS-l5 produce the rotational drive of gears 19 and 2146 through the upward thrust of the shafts. Thrust bearings lid, `d'7 and d@ are provided between the inner surface of the upper frame member and the outer surface of the upper gears 2l, 2d `and 25 to facilitate the rotation of these gears. ri`he llower frame member maintains the lower gears in position relative to the upper gears, hence, retaining the balls in their respective channels.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mechanism of the present invention is illustrated as including an output device 49 coupled to shaft i8. As shown the output includes a gear 51 which meshes with a rack 57;. The rack is provided With a pointer S3 adapted to travel horizontally across a chart of numbers. A return bias 54 is coupled to the rack 52. The bias can be any suitable means, such as a spring, pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, an electric solenoid, or etc., for resetting the mechanism to the rest or reset position such as shown in FIG. 3. Either the gear 5l or the rack SZ can be used as the power takeoff for the device being driven by the mechanism of the present invention.

ln the operation of the present invention the adder is activated by applying an axial thrust to one or more of the shafts lS-ll. By way of illustration, FlG. 4 shows the adder activated to produce ia sum or answer at the output on the chart which `is six, the sum of 3 and 3 added together. The sequence of operation and succession of movements is as follows: means 55 is energized to force shaft 15 upward. Shaft l5, being attached to gear 19, forces the gear to rotate countercloclrwise and atrasos Q u upward at the same time toward gear 223, through the effect of the balls 2." and the arcuate inclined plane in the channels 3l. and rotary motion stop when the balls 2'? bottom at the deep ends o the grooves 3l; and 39. While ge' moving, gear 212, which meshes with is rotated in a clockwise direction. Balls being at the shallow ends of grooves lil and transmit th rotary motion of gear 22 to gear Ztl so that motion generator rotates as a unit. Notion generators land similarly each rotate as a unit in one direction, i.e.,

tor 3.3 countercloclovise and generator clock.- Wise. rEhe rotation of gear l@ is thus transmitted lthrough motion generators lll, i3 and 1d to the output e9. Means E6 is then energized and a thrust is applied to gear ZZ through shalt Since gear Z2 is mashed with gear 19 and can no longer state, it can only slide upward forcing the balls 2,8 to travel down the inciined plane of channels 31?., thus pi 2l in a clockwise direction. 'Fne rotation of the ulward movement ot gear bottom in the deep ends of the grooves te rthe rotational motion of gear 2l is transmitted to motion generator i3 through gear 2d and then to generator and the output 49. The output inicates the combined etect of the individual movements of i9 and to provide an output of sin units as shown. To move tie pointer 53 to the number eight and provide an output ol that amount, means 57 Would be energized to apply a thrust to shaft 1 7. Axial movement of shaft i7 would force the gear 23 upward and in a counterclocinvise direction until the balls 27" bottom in the deep ends of the grooves l2 and i3 which would terminate the linear and rotary motion. To return to the number ourj means 53T and 57 would be cle-energized so that the thrust on shafts "riand 1 7 would be taken off and the force would return the pointer to position three Means 58 would be energized and thrust would then be applied to shaft which would force the gear upwardly, rotating gear in a clockwise direction until the balls 3h bottom in the deep ends ot the grooves and Shaft 1E output 4% would be rotated by gear Z5 to align the pointer 53 with num er feint Since shafts l5 and i3 are engaged, the output would be four, i.e., the sum of 3 and l.

Eecause of the constant return bias, the adder of the present invention need not be reset to rest position before starti g o new sequence of adding. While the various means have been described as energized in sequence for ease in understanding the operatie-n of the mechanism d' closed, it is understood that the motion generators can be activated sequentially or simultaneously as desired.

The present invention can be calibrated by adjustment of the position of gear Ey repositioning gear 21B, shaft l can be adjusted to the proper position to achieve correct alignment o the pointer 53 and the chart ot numbers.

The positioning mechanism of the present invention has been illustrated as employing a numeric code. However, it is contemplated that the motion generators could be coded accordin to any suitable code, for instance, logarithmic. if the channels 31-3 1ere coded in terms of logarithmic functions of increments the mechanism disclosed could be used for multiplication of the increments instead of addition.

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be obvious to those .i skilled in the art that various changes and modifications .v be made without departing from the invention and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such l and modifications that come Within the true spirit chang s scope of the invention.

vvrlvhat is claimed is:

l. A mechanical positioning mechanism comprising: a plurality ot itinerante-rotary motion generators connected in series to form a train for the transmission of rotary motion therethrough, the generators being coded in accordance with a preselected numeric code to produce u numeric output; a plurality of shafts, each shaft being connected to a. motion generator for applying linear motion thereto. l

2. A mechanical positioning mechanism as defined in claim l in which each motion generator includes a pair of gears, at least one gear of each generator being mesh-ed with a gear of an adjacent generator.

3. A mechanical positioning mechanism `as deiined in claim 2 in which the gears or" each generator are spaced iapart by balls which provide a driving connection between the gears.

4. A mechanical positioning mechanism comprising: upper and lower trame members; a plurality of shafts mounted in the frame members for rotary and axial movement; and a plurality of linear-to-rotary motion generators mounted on the shafts between the frame members, the motion generators being connected in series to form a train for the transmission of rotary motion.

5. A mechanical positioning mechanism as defined in claim l in which each motion generator includes a pair of gears, at least one gear of each generator being meshed with a gear of an adjacent generator.

6. A mechanical positioning mechanism as deiined in claim 5 in which the gears of each generator are spaced apart by balls which provide a driving connection between the gears.

7. A mechanical positioning mechanism os defined in claim 6 in which one gear of one motion generator is secured to the frame, and one gear of another motion generator is secured to an output shaft.

8. A mechanical positioning mechanism comprising: upper and lower frame members; a plurality of shafts mounted in the frame members for rotary and axial movenient; a plurality of linear-to-rotary motion generators mounted on the shafts between the yframe members, the shafts being connected to the motion generators for the transmission of linear motion thereto, the motion generators being connected in series t-o form a train for the transmission o rotary motion; and an output device connected to one of the motion generators, the output of the mechanism being the sum of the rotary movements of the individual motion generators.

9. A mechanical positioning mechanism as deiined in claim 8 in which the motion generators are coded according to a numeric code to provide rotational movements equal to multiples of an increment of movement.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 598,266 Mallmann Feb. l, 1898 761,721 Harrison lune 3, 190?. 2,539,099 Leland lan. 23, 1951 2,544,918 Demevlenaere et al Mar. 13, 1951 2,828,636 Hall Apr. l, 1958 

1. A MECHANICAL POSITIONING MECHANISM COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF LINEAR-TO-ROTARY MOTION GENERATORS CONNECTED IN SERIES TO FORM A TRAIN FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF ROTARY MOTION THERETHROUGH, THE GENERATORS BEING CODED IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PRESELECTED NUMERIC CODE TO PRODUCE A NUMERIC OUTPUT; AND A PLURALITY OF SHAFTS, EACH SHAFT BEING CONNECTED TO A MOTION GENERATOR FOR APPLYING LINEAR MOTION THERETO. 